Whiskey and Mistletoe
by Purple Sky Juliet
Summary: Gilbert is at the bar on Christmas Eve, expecting to spend Christmas alone. But then in walks Elizaveta, and things take a turn for the better. PruHun. Human AU. Twoshot.
1. Chapter 1

The bar is nearly empty, but that is to be expected tonight. It's Christmas Eve, and people should be spending time with their families, acting out their holiday traditions, drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace. But he's sitting alone at the bar, a glass of whiskey in one hand, his cheek resting in the other as he stares at the amber liquid. The bartender is wiping the bar, even though the albino has been the only one in the bar for the past two hours and he's already cleaned up.

He sighs and swirls the liquid in the glass. The bell on the door signals a new arrival, but he doesn't look up to see who it is. The bartender does, and nods to the woman as she walks in the door, the snow blowing in gently around her feet. She asks the bartender for a whiskey on the rocks and takes her seat next to the silver-haired male.

"Hey, Gilbert."

"Yo, Elizaveta," he says, taking his eyes from the glass to meet her green eyes with his red ones. Complimentary colors, he thinks to himself. Christmas colors.

The bartender hands Elizaveta the whiskey, and she thanks him. Gilbert signals the bartender to add the drink to his tab when Elizaveta's not looking, and the bartender agrees. Gilbert takes a sip of the burning liquid.

"I haven't seen you around for a while. Shouldn't you be with the aristocrat? At that house of his in Aspen or whatever?"

"Roderich and I broke up."

"Oh? When?"

"A couple weeks ago." She sips her drink.

"Why? You thought he was awesomer than me, which is impossible, by the way."

She gives him a small glare but doesn't retort against his declaration of awesomeness. "We just grew apart." She took another sip of her drink and pauses in contemplation for a long moment. "We grew apart too, didn't we, Gil?"

He stops halfway between raising his glass to his lips and turns to look at her. He sets the glass back down on the bar. She used his nickname; she hadn't used his nickname in years.

"Yeah. We did, Lizzie. You were away with that pansy ass too much of the time."

"Yeah, you're right. I did focus on him a lot," she pauses again, setting her drink down on the bar. Suddenly she turns in her barstool to face him, a bright grin spreading across her face. "Hey, do you remember that Christmas when we were twelve, when my dad set the tree on fire?"

Gilbert laughs loudly, the chortles echoing off the empty walls of the bar. "Yeah! There were flames everywhere! And he couldn't find the fire extinguisher, so my mom tried to put it out with beer. Kesesese, that was awesome! And do you remember when we were thirteen?"

"The turkey incident? God, how could I forget! Your dad had a turkey stuck on his arm! We had to go to the emergency room so they could pull it off!"

Gilbert was laughing so hard his head rested on the bar. "And the doctor fell square on his ass five times trying to detach it. Awesomest hospital visit ever."

Elizaveta laughs again. "It was, wasn't it?" She grins widely at him and launches into another story that spelled out a Christmas gone wrong, and he counters with his own tale. They were laughing so hard they could barely stay in their stools and were hiccupping when the bartender came over.

"Bar's closin'," he announces. "Y'all should get on home now."

"Oh, thank you," Elizaveta says, wiping the laughter tears out of her eyes. She moves to pull her wallet out of her purse.

"No, I got it," Gilbert insists, handing the bartender enough for both their bills and a nice tip. "My treat."

She frowns at him and moves to get money anyway, but he grabs her by the shoulders and steers her out of the bar before she can. "Think of it as a Christmas gift, Lizzie. From the awesome me to you."

The air outside the bar is cold, and the snow is lightly swirling around them as the step out onto the street lighted boulevard. She shivers and shoves her hands deep into the pockets of her black coat, and Gilbert rummages around in his coat for gloves until he finds a pair.

"Which way are you? I'll walk you home."

"Such a gentleman," Elizaveta teases, putting on gloves she found in her coat pockets. Gilbert offers her his arm with a bow, and she takes it with a grin.

"I am a gentleman. It's one of my awesomest qualities."

She snorts. "Uh-huh, that's right." He sticks his tongue out at her for a moment and she laughs lightly.

"So why are you still here?" she asks him as they walk. "Shouldn't you be with Ludwig for the holidays?"

"He went to Rome with Feliciano for Christmas," Gilbert explains, frowning ever so slightly. "Antonio went with Lovino to Rome as well. And Francis is in France, and he'd just be fucking a ton of people on Christmas anyway. So I just decided to stay put this year. I couldn't afford a ticket to Germany to visit my parents and neither could they."

"Oh, I see," she says. "What are you doing tomorrow then?"

"I don't know. I'll figure something out," he clears his throat. "Uhm, so why are you here? If you aren't in Aspen, shouldn't you be with your parents?"

"They're on a cruise. 30th wedding anniversary on the 30th."

He nods in response, and they are silent the final block to her apartment building. She stops outside and invites him into the lobby to warm up before he heads back home, and he agrees. They enter the lobby, all decorated for Christmas. Garland is strung up around the perimeter, and wreaths adorn the walls. A tree decked out in gold and silver ornaments sits in the far left corner, so tall it scrapes the ceiling. They stop in the center of the lobby, underneath a common decoration.

She turns to speak to him, but catches him staring wide-eyed at the ceiling instead. She looks up and sees the sprig of green tied with red ribbon. She swallows hard and looks back at his face. His cheeks are burning a fierce red as he looks at her, and she can feel her own cheeks flushing. She stammers incoherently, trying to form words. He leans down quickly, pushing his lips softly against hers. Her eyes widen for a moment before they close, and he pulls away a second later. He averts his eyes, looking toward the far wall instead of her, his cheeks still as red as his eyes. She smiles and bites her lip.

"Hey, uhm, Gil?"

He looks over at her, the blush slowly subsiding. "Yeah?"

"I…was planning on making a small Christmas dinner tomorrow. Since we're both alone…would you like to come over and spend Christmas with me?"

He looks surprised for a moment before nodding his head. "Yeah, that'd be awesome, Lizzie."

"Great!" she chimes. "I'll see you around four, then?" She stands on her tiptoes to press a kiss against his lips quickly before dashing off towards the staircase to her apartment.

He stands still for a while, watching the door to the staircase slowly creak closed. He looks up on the mistletoe with a big grin, and pats the sprig. "Thanks, buddy." His grin stayed plastered on his face all the way home to his apartment.

**Author's Notes:**

**Just a little oneshot for a contest on DA =) The theme was "Holiday Memories." I'd been wanting to do it for a while (plus felt I should write something for the holidays) and I got this idea last night. I hope you enjoyed it, and happy holidays! 3**


	2. Chapter 2

He stood in front of the mirror and surveyed himself. Red dress shirt. Black pants. Black tie. He frowned as he noticed his extremely unruly silver hair was sticking straight up in the middle of his head. Grumbling, he took his comb and ran it through his hair several times until it laid acceptably flat.

He smirked into the mirror at himself. "Looking awesome, Gilbert."

Satisfied with his appearance, he turned away from his reflection and strolled out into the small living room of his apartment. The clock on the wall read 3:05. He still had 40 minutes before he had to leave to reach Elizaveta's at four. He paced aimlessly around the apartment for a few minutes before a thought struck him – it wouldn't be awesome of him to turn up on Elizaveta's doorstep empty-handed! He had to have something around the apartment he could bring as a gift. Surely he had some wine. He went to the pantry, but all he could see were packages of ramen piled up on multiple shelves, a bag of potatoes, and some chips and pretzels. He frowned and glowered into the dark room. He really needed to take his brother's advice and go grocery shopping.

He peered into the fridge, but all that was in there were several leftover boxes from the diner across the street and a half-empty can of beer. There was a carton of milk, but he couldn't even remember the last time he bought milk. It smelled sour and he gagged and threw it into the trashcan. He sighed in defeat. Everything within walking distance was closed on Christmas Day, and he didn't have a car, money on his Metro card, or the time to go across the city.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and beeped in protest and it's nearly gone charge. "Great," he muttered and went into his bedroom, rummaging around in his dresser drawers for the phone charger. "I know I left the damn thing somewhere in here…"

He finally found the elusive charger after disrupting the contents of several dresser drawers. As he stood up from plugging in his phone, a glint of silver caught his eye in the most recently overturned drawer. A silver box sat on top of the clutter. Perplexed, he grasped the box and pulled it out of the drawer. It was dusty and clearly old; the name of the store on the top of the box had long since gone out of business. He must have been only twenty when it closed. He took the lid of the box and stared at the silver chain that held a disc of green jade at the bottom. The jade had swirls of dozens of different shades of green – one was precisely the color of Elizaveta's eyes.

He stumbled backward and sat heavily down on his bed. He'd bought this years ago. It took him months of doing odd jobs to save up for it. He had planned to give it to Elizaveta for Christmas their senior year, but he'd chickened out when he saw the bracelet Roderich had given her was clearly much more expensive and refined than the pendant. So he'd convinced himself that he'd give it to her on Valentine's Day, and that it would be awesome – but the necklace Roderich had gotten her that time had bested the pendant yet again, and he had shoved the pendant into the back drawer of his dresser and forgotten about it. It must have come with the dresser from his parent's house when he moved into the apartment. He trailed his fingers along the jade and steeled his resolve. He'd give her the pendant this time.

He carefully brushed the dust off the box and dug around to find some wrapping paper. He wrapped the box carefully, his tongue poking out in concentration as he tried to make the perfect creases. After observing his work and deciding it was suitable, he grinned proudly and checked the clock. 3:45. Perfect timing. He could walk to Elizaveta's and get there right on time. He grabbed his phone off the charger and stowed the present carefully in the pocket of his coat, keeping it secured in his hand the entire way over.

The streets were mostly deserted except for the occasional fellow pedestrian, to whom he nodded politely and wished a merry Christmas. He came to Elizaveta's building, grinned at his buddy the lobby mistletoe, and pressed the buzzer for Elizaveta's apartment. Her voice crackled over the old intercom system.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Lizzie. It's Gil. You wanna let the awesome me up?"

"If you're so conceited I won't," she teased.

"Oh come on, you know you love it."

Her laugh came over the intercom and a buzz and click signaled the unlocking of the stairwell door. He opened the door and ascended the three flights of stairs to her apartment, knocking on the door of apartment 3C when he came to it. Elizaveta opened the door, wearing a green cocktail dress that came to a couple inches above her knees, her hair wavy and falling down over her shoulders. She smiled brightly at him.

"Merry Christmas, Gil."

"Merry Christmas, Lizzie. You look – ah – very nice."

"Oh, thank you!" she looked down at her green dress and then back up at him. "You're looking rather dapper yourself."

"I always look awesome," he said, regaining the composure he momentarily lost at the door. "May I come in?"

"Of course," she said and let him by. "Dinner should be soon. It's really not much, but I hope it'll be good."

"I'm sure it will be," he assured her and grinned. She returned the grin and the timer dinged from the kitchen.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, turning towards the sound and moving for the kitchen. "Make yourself at home, Gil. Do you want wine?"

"Yeah, that'd be awesome," he replied as he hung his coat on the rack in the corner, checking the present one last time. He sat down on her dining room table that shared a room with the living room. Music was playing softly from a stereo in the corner near the television. He couldn't quite make out the word, but it sounded like a love song to him. The lights were on in the apartment, but there were a couple unlit candles set out on the table as a centerpiece. He noticed a matchbox on the coffee table; he rose and got the matches to light the candles. He succeeded in lighting them without burning his fingers.

Elizaveta came out of the kitchen with two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine and smiled at the lit candles. She set the glasses down and poured them each a glass. She disappeared into the kitchen again, calling occasionally back to ask his opinion of this or that in regards to food. She emerged a few minutes later carrying two plates, each with the staples of turkey and stuffing, but also laden with foods they'd eaten at Christmas dinners with their families as kids. Her mother's stuffed cabbage recipe, his mother's special Christmas wurst recipe, Her father's famous fish soup was in a bowl balanced on the plate, and his father's potato salad recipe sat next to it.

"Geez, Lizzie, you didn't need to kill yourself for this!" he exclaimed in awe at all the food. "This had to have taken you hours."

She blushed lightly but it quickly dissipated and she shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I liked it. We haven't eaten this stuff since we were kids."

He nodded in agreement, trying to keep his manners in check instead of shoveling loads of the food into his mouth at once like he wanted to. Elizaveta noticed, and narrowed her eyes at him across the table, pointing her fork at him accusingly.

"You don't eat like that. You never have."

"I'm displaying my awesome manners."

"They make your eye twitch."

"…They do?"

"Yes. They do. You're allowed to shovel, you know. I really don't care. Just don't get food on my carpet without cleaning it up."

He paused for a dumbfounded moment and stared at his plate before attacking it with his fork like a starving animal. Elizaveta laughed in amusement, and set about eating in her own less-than-refined way. When they finished, they both looked up at each and burst into fits of laughter over their food-covered faces. Gasping for breath, they cleaned their faces off with their napkins, still snickering as they cleared their plates. They washed them in the sink side by side, their hands brushing against the other's and their elbows knocking gently. After the leftover food had been placed in the fridge, the dishes set to dry, and another glass of wine poured, they sat down on the sofa. Their knees were touching ever so slightly, and Gilbert was tempted to put his arm around her shoulders, but instead he coughed awkwardly and spoke.

"I, uhm, got you something."

"What?" she turned to stare at him. "Gil, you shouldn't have! I didn't get anything for you in return and– "

"I already had it," he said, standing up to retrieve the package from the pocket of his coat. "It's…been a long time coming, Lizzie. I bought it for you six years ago. I just…never gave it to you."

She quirked an eyebrow at him quizzically but said nothing. He got the small wrapped box and sat back down on the couch, turning to face her, sticking out the package. She set down her glass of wine on the coffee table and held the small package in her hand for several moments.

"Go on, open it."

She tore the paper carefully along the seam and slid the box out from the paper sleeve. She lifted the lid of the box and gasped.

"Oh, Gilbert! It's gorgeous," she exclaimed, picking up the silver chain, holding it up so that the jade pendant dangled in the light. She smiled happily as the light danced off the pendant and chain.

"Here, let me help you put it on," Gilbert offered, and she handed him the pendant and collected her hair over one shoulder so he could clasp it around her neck. He did, and she turned so he could see her and she gazed down at the green disc.

"It looks awesome on you," Gilbert grinned.

"It's so beautiful," she replied, gently touching the jade, and then looked him in the eyes. "Why did you wait six years?"

"Well, you see…" he began, trailing off as he thought of how to word things. "Roderich always got you something more beautiful or refined or expensive. So his would outshine mine, so I decided I might as well not bother. And then after high school, I guess I just…forgot."

Elizaveta smiled at him, then leaned across the small space between them to press her lips against his cheek. "This is better than anything he ever got me."

Gilbert grinned broadly, his red eyes sparkling. Elizaveta returned the contagious grin. He leaned over and picked up his wine glass from the coffee table.

"To jade necklaces surpassing Tiffany's," he toasted, raising his wine glass.

Elizaveta picked up her glass and added, "And to whiskey and mistletoe."

He paused and licked his lips before adding in a questioning tone, "And new relationships?"

Elizaveta smiled and clinked her glass with his. "And new relationships."

They finished the small amounts of wine in their glasses after the toast, and Gilbert leaned in to kiss Elizaveta, snatching her glass and setting in down on the coffee table. They laughed and kissed, tangled in each other on the sofa.

The next morning, Gilbert awoke to a loud blaring of "Motherfucker, I'm awesome!" from the bedside table. Groaning sleepily, he reached out and grabbed the phone.

"Hallo?" he answered, shifting slightly to redistribute the weight on his chest.

"_Guten Morgen_, Gilbert," his mother's breezy voice said over the line in her fluid German. "How was your Christmas?"

Gilbert glanced down at Elizaveta, fast asleep on his chest, arms wrapped around his torso. The jade pendant still dangled around her neck. He smiled fondly and moved his hand to stroke her hair.

"I gotta say it was pretty awesome, Mutti."

**Author's Notes: My friend Averiel (UniquelyNerdy125) requested a second part for her Christmas present, so here it is! ^^ Happy Holidays, everyone! 3 ~Juliette**


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